Novel
The World of William Clissold
A long intellectual novel wrestling with modern society, reform, sexuality, and world order.
Description
About the work
A long intellectual novel wrestling with modern society, reform, sexuality, and world order.
The World of William Clissold is usually read through its treatment of modernity, social reform, and internationalism. As a novel, it turns those concerns into conflicts of character, voice, setting, and social pressure rather than leaving them as abstract ideas.
Part of the work's durability lies in the way its form intensifies its themes. Readers return to it not only for subject matter but for the distinctive voice, structure, and atmosphere through which it makes modernity, social reform, and internationalism feel immediate.
Overview
Why it was banned
The World of William Clissold entered censorship debates as a novel associated with modernity, social reform, and internationalism. In the current dossier, the main state objections cluster around anti fascism and ideological control.
The earliest event currently captured here is 1936 in Germany, where Nazi authorities banned circulation. Nazi censors expanded their order to suppress Wells's wider body of work. The ban shows how regimes often move from one disliked title to an author-wide blacklist.
This entry is still incomplete: more jurisdictions, court orders, and translated justifications should be added over time.
This page is intentionally incomplete. The ban history is a starter dataset, not a final census of every jurisdiction or decree.
Counter and critical readings
Context, rebuttals, and criticism
- The Origins of Totalitarianism Hannah Arendt
A foundational analysis of state terror, propaganda, and ideological conformity.
- On Tyranny Timothy Snyder
A short modern guide to resisting authoritarian politics and controlled public discourse.
- 100 Banned Books: Censorship Histories of World Literature Nicholas J. Karolides, Margaret Bald, and Dawn B. Sova
A compact reference on how censorship systems moved across states, churches, and courts.
- Banned Books: 387 B.C. to 1978 A.D. Anne Lyon Haight
Useful for comparing older obscenity, heresy, and political bans with modern free-speech disputes.
Ban history
Known government actions
| Date | Jurisdiction | Action | Reason | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 | Germany | banned circulation | Nazi censors expanded their order to suppress Wells's wider body of work. | The ban shows how regimes often move from one disliked title to an author-wide blacklist. |
Sources
Harvested references for this page
- Wikipedia: List of books banned by governments reference partial
- Wikipedia REST summary API database partial
- Encyclopedia of Censorship book partial
- 100 Banned Books: Censorship Histories of World Literature book partial
- The Origins of Totalitarianism book not started
- On Tyranny book not started
- Banned Books: 387 B.C. to 1978 A.D. book partial